I can see it all now.....Welcome 2013

So I made a vision board for the new year and so am ushering in 2013 with these goals and dreams in mind:

1. Connect more deeply with my family.

2. Be kinder and more compassionate towards myself.

3. Be kinder and more compassionate towards others.

4. Write often and also more often.....get back into the habit of writing at least once daily.

5. Develop more upper body strength to use rock climbing and arm balancing. :)

6. Take a sexy, tropical vacay with hopefully new husband.

7. Learn more about teaching yoga and deepen my own practice.

8. YOGA RETREATS! Would like to teach one and take one!

Sweet Tuesday Morning

Opportunities are all around us. I have been teaching, or rather trying to teach, a vinyasa class on Tuesday mornings and since I took over the time slot...no one has showed up. I have been taking the time to use the studio for my own personal practice.

My Tuesday morning retreat: Edwardsville Fitness Studio (in lower level)

Although I have been longing for a full vinyasa class, I am patient and it has definitely not been time lost for me. I have been teaching more and more often and have begun to lose the strength of my own personal practice in the last few weeks. I feel the universe is offering up this time and space for me to use and its important for me to be open to the different ways that I can use it.

"Practice and all is coming." 

-Sri K Pattabhi Jois

I have hope that I will have students on Tuesdays eventually...maybe it's because it is summer, maybe it needs to be earlier or later, maybe it should be a community class or maybe... who the heck knows why?? For now, it has been a beautiful sacred time that I have spent in a fantastic and dreamy studio reconnecting with my practice and enjoying some of the best company I know....me!  Come join me and reconnect with your practice!

Namaste.

It's Gettin' HOT in Herrrrrre...

The video from Fox 2's Tim Ezell visit to Hot Yoga finally aired on tv this week and I thought you might enjoy seeing the final result and learning a little more about Hot Yoga of Edwardsville. Click on the link below to watch:

http://fox2now.com/2012/06/13/the-benefits-of-hot-yoga/

Also wanted to share another video that explains a little more about this practice via the owner Dr. Bridget Brasfield. This video was taken at our studio at a Business After Hours Chamber of Commerce event! Meet our staff and listen to a testimonial by clicking on the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjf7ho9PZ_Q&feature=youtu.be

Blessed Up and Blissed Out!!

First classes are always interesting!

Yesterday, I taught my first outdoor yoga class in Granite City and it didn't disappoint! I was a bit concerned that maybe nobody would show up. Of course, I was wrong and had a lovely group of yogis that came to share their energy with me. Sure, there were groups of giggling graduates taking photos behind us by the fountain in the park and there were a few emergency vehicles that flew by with sirens a-blazing. But overall, the group was focused and kind, the sun was shining and the breeze was warm. Truly, it couldn't have been a more inspiring day and practice! Favorite moment: students lying in savasana, birds singing.

After the outdoor class finished up, I took flight myself and soared along 270 to Edwardsville to teach my first ever private class at Hot Yoga. I couldn't ask for a better second, first class of the day! The two clients, who happen to be a few of my favorite students, booked this class for their friends and family to come and try out this "crazy workout" that they had been doing. I assumed that the newcomers were just nervous about attending a class with others who might be judgmental or more physically fit, etc. I was wrong...they were quite athletic and it was actually because they are all total cut-ups and had a very difficult time keeping it serious. What a fun class to get to teach! My favorite moment was when the whole class squatted down to get ready for standing forward fold and every knee in the building cracked or popped at the same moment! Got a great laugh! 

(sounds overheard in yoga class)

I had an hour or so and ran home to take my second shower of the day. Then it was back to Hot Yoga for a vinyasa workshop with my teacher Emmet Schmelig. I was almost spent when I arrived back at the studio and the 2 hour practice of flow yoga polished me off nicely. It was an incredible practice. I was interested in  being able to measure my own strength in comparison to where I was the first time I practiced with Emmet last September. I could barely do one chaturanga then. Now I am able to do everything in the practice and still keep my breathing steady and long. I even was able to bind in extended side angle and trikonasana, which I hadn't tried before. Favorite moment: my own savasana, listening to Emmet tell us that "you are perfect just the way you are."

my dear friend and teacher Emmet Schmelig

Finished the evening with a third shower, a large Dewey's pizza and an early bedtime.

Although every single tiny muscle in my entire body is sore today, there is a total contentment and calmness that is with me still. Yoga hangover...totally blissed-out!! I wouldn't have traded yesterday for anything! There is no question in my mind that it was a gift and a blessing. Namaste.

YOGA: A Photo Essay

Yoga: to yoke, union of mind body and spirit

Chakrasana (Wheel)

Revolved Downward Facing Dog?

Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Handstand)

Padmasana (Lotus)

Sirsasana (Headstand)

Usthasana (Camel)

Utthitaparsvakonasana (Extended Side Angle)

Vasisthasana (Side Plank)

Virabhadrasana III (Warrior 3)

Vrksasana (Tree)

My daughter, Ally, the photographer.

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu

May all beings everywhere be happy and free. 

And may the thoughts, words and actions in my own life

contribute in some way to that happiness and freedom for all.

Bikram-a-lam-a-ding-dong!

I tried Bikram yoga for the first time this week! 

It was interesting.....and really really hot. I teach hot yoga, so I expected to do alright with the heat in the studio and wasn't very nervous upon arrival. When we got to the studio, I had to fill out all of the necessary papers and waivers ensuring my family wouldn't sue when I began convulsing on my mat about halfway through the class. Then my "yoga hostess" gave me a run-down of all of the rules: no talking, no leaving the room and no small hand towels for wiping away sweat. I was cool with these rules and understood the reasoning behind them because we employ the same type of environment where I work....very disciplined! 


I did well with the standing asanas, but once we hit the floor I had lots of trouble getting back up off of my back. I quickly found myself searching for all of the standard techniques that I normally use to engage my students when they are struggling. I was breathing in and out through my nose, utilizing my ujjayi breath, but my stomach would not stop lurching around. Spots lingered in front of my eyes as I tried to roll over. I was determined not to leave the room or throw up all over my neighbor either. I stayed on my back (like an over-turned turtle unable to right himself) and soon enough my "yoga hostess" popped by to check on me. She told me to release the constriction on my throat and let my breath come back to normal. The ujjayi breathing was actually building more heat in my body. As I let my breath come back to its natural rhythm my body began to settle down. I was even able to collect myself and peel my body off the mat for the final 3 or 4 poses. 


It was challenging and intense, but I did enjoy the experience. I was surprised by how philosophical the hostess was, delving into the Yoga Sutras during our resting times and relaying a story about how her dog passed away last weekend. This is not what I expected! I had heard that Bikram teachers are robotic and more like bootcamp instructors than spiritual guides. When she started referencing the movie "I Am" I almost raised my hand to ask if I was hallucinating or not? I liked the spiritual lesson (her dog was named "Spirit") and really did sympathize with her, but at the time I would have preferred a drill sergeant--this compassionate character conducting class was not motivating me to move from my mat any faster. I did shed a tear or two at the final savasana, from exhaustion or sympathy for Spirit's passing, I still can't say. One thing I do know for certain, I will be back, Bikram. 


Be ready.